Galway United head to Belfield Bowl with a place in quarter-final in their sights

The two sides met at the same stage of the competition last year, with Thomas Lonergan firing home in the 87th minute to seal a 3-2 win for The Students when the sides met in Eamonn Deacy Park.

Then, as now, the clubs were in different divisions, but despite being the lower tier side, United were fancied by many to win last year’s meeting. It will be the same this Friday – second in the table behind Cork City at the time of last year’s meeting at the end of August, United are runaway league leaders this time and will be back in the top-flight next season.

UCD were in a battle with Finn Harps to avoid the drop last year, a battle the Dublin side ultimately won, but that looks like having been only a 12-month stay of execution as they are all but relegated this time around despite still having 10 league games to play, finding themselves 14 points adrift of Cork City, and with only two league wins to their name all season.

It means Friday’s meeting will be between the two sides who will swop division next seasons, so United will get a good idea of the level which they must surpass, and then some, when they do make the step-up next year.

United manager John Caulfield holds no truck with any suggestions that Friday’s game is a mere formality for United, saying there were similar thoughts swirling around the ether last year, and look how that ended up.

“UCD knocked us out last year. The game is up in their place, they are a Premier Division side, and they are used to playing teams of a higher quality,” the United manager says.

“It is always deceptive going into UCD – there is never a great atmosphere, and people think sometimes it is just a team of students and it will be handy, but they are not just students, there are four or five full time players there.

Pictured: Galway United goalkeeper Brendan Clarke will hope for a quiet night in Belfield this Friday. Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy.